RUSKA IDEJA
THE RUSSIAN IDEA

Summary/Abstract: The Russian idea as a topic falls in the domain of the history of philosophy. The author has presented a specter of opinions regarding this question, from the time the term was initially used to this day. The idea revolves around the concept of the Russian people’s uniqueness and it’s characteristic course in the creation of its own civilization, different from that of West Europe. The question was initially introduced by a dispute between Slavophiles and the so-called »westerners« in the last century regarding the need for Russia to follow the Western model in its development or to find its own way based on its specific national identity. This dispute has been revived in the intellectual circles of modern Russia, arousing the attention of the public and giving rise to new viewpoints regarding the whole problem. According to N. Berdyayev, the Russian idea is in the contemplation of brotherhood among men and peoples. The essential elements of the Russian idea are to be found in the Orthodox religion, characteristic parliamentarism and spiritual communitarism. V. Solovyov held the view that »a nation’s idea is not what the nation thinks of itself in time but what God thinks of it in eternity«. Critics of the Russian idea, such as A. Yanov, declared it to be a defense of slavery, despotism and imperial expansion. It is indeed a comprehensive ethic and ideological system of thought, of political, moral and spiritual principles and a call for the rebirth of the great values of Russian parliamentarism, humanism and personal spiritual purification.

• Details
• Contents